Reversible interchangeable rubber heel



J. W. MEYERS.

REVERSIBLE INTERCHANGEABLE RUBBER HEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIY, 1920 1,417,275. ented May 23, 1922.

7 f a I fiYT/E/YTOE J WJFJEYERS ATTOPIYEY s1 (mar 11:

JOHN W. MEYEBS, OF ELYRIA, OHIO.

REVERSIBLE, INTERCHANGEABLE RUBBER HEEL.

Application filed July 1?, 1920. Serial No.

To all 207mm it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN VJ. Tiinrnns, a citizen of the United States,residing at Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and use ful Improvement in ReversibleInterchangeable Rubber Heels, of whichthe following isa run, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

An object of my invention is the provision of a rubber heel having meansother than nails, whereby it may be easily and quickly applied to a shoeand be securely held during use. Another object is to provide adjustabledetachable heel securing means, which will. permit a pair of rubberheels after being partially worn to be readily reversed on the shoes,that is, the heels to be detached from the shoes and the left heelapplied to the right shoe, and vice versa, thus increasing the wearavailable from a pair of heels nearly 50%. The same means, of course,will also permit a pair of rubber heels when worn out to be readilyreplaced by a new pair without involving the expense and delayordinarily incurred in,

having worn heels replaced.

More specifically it is my object to pro vide complementary attachingmembers, one of which may be secured to the bottom of the heel portionof the shoe, and the other of which maybe formed in the commercial.rubber heel, during the process of manufacture in such manner thatrubber heels con,- taining one of the members may be readily engaged ordisengaged from the shoe carrying the other member for reversal or replacement, when desired, and yet be securely retained on the shoe duringuse.

An important feature of my invention is the elimination of nails fromthe heel. With the fastening means as provided, the wearing surface ortread is entirely free from nails or other metallic attaching means, andthe upper surface of the sole above the heel is not studded with theends of nails which frequently project through and perforate the heelportion of the hosiery'a-nd cause considerable discomfort to the wearer.An

other importantfeature that aids in provid- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented llls'ay 22?, @322.

my invention; Fig. E2 is a plan of a heel represents the opposite faceof the heel. shown in Fig. 1; F 3 a vertical section through a heelshowing the fastening means between the heel and shoe.

My invention contemplates, in general, the construction of a heel whichmay be conveniently secured to shoe without the employment of nails.Conversely. my invention provides for a construction that enables a heelto be readily removed from a shoe, for purposes of replacementor forpurposes of transposing from one shoe to another. In carrying out myinvention I prefer to employ a fastening means, which is similar inoperation to the ordinary glove fastener, in that, it is capable ofbeing readily attached or disengaged by the wearer.

Referring now to the drawings, and designating the parts shown thereinby the use of reference characters, 10 represents any form of rubberheel, which is suitable for being used with my invention. The heel whichI have shown is provided with a tread ill, and a crown 12 on the wearingsurface thereof. On the opposite surface this heel shown as providedwith an annular groove 13., which is spaced inwardly from the ma"- ginaledges of the heel, and cut slightly into the body portion thereof. forreceiving a plate, which will be hereinafter described. In Fig. 3 thatportion of the heel extending from the outer periphery of the groi'ive1.3 to the marginal edge 25 may be tapered, as at 1&, to enable themarginal edges to be spread outwardly, when the heel is pressed againstthe shoe. 'lhis outwardly sprea il ing action serves to form aneffective coir tact or seal between the heel and shoe.

In carrying out the snap fastener principle for securing the heel to theshoe. 1 prefer to employ an endless member 15 preferembodying featuresof my invention am ably constructed of wire, which may be ima plate 18which may be removably s cured and adjusted to the shoe independen ofthe heel. Such a plate is shown in Fig. 0 as being corrugated as at 2-4.around the marginal edges thereof. The shape of the corrugation is suchas to be s-iubstantially coinplementary with the groove l3 in the heel,

To seinto which it is adapted to extend. cure the plate to a shoe lprefer to employ a set of screws 19, which extend through elongatedapertures 20. The shape of these apertures permits the adjust .ent ofthe plates without removing the screws from the shoe, and thereforeenables the interchange-- ability of the heels withoutneoessit'n ng thecutting away of portions thereof to form a neat joint with the lift ofthe Shoe. In Fig. 2 it will be noted that the marginal edge of theplate, as at 9]., extends beyond. the bearing surface of the plate. Thepurpose for this offset marginal edge is to cause the plate to clinchthe shoe when the s .:rews 19 are drawn tightly'into the shoe.

The posts, which are adapted to be carried by e Shoe and to eng g withthe afore mentioned loops in the heel, are represented at 22, as beingrigid with the plate 18 and spaced around the corrugated portion thereof. These posts may be similar to the posts employed in the ordinaryglove fastener and correspond in number with the fastener loops 1G inthe rubber heel. By sparing the posts around the corrugated portion ofthe plate rather than on the bearing surface thereof, it is notnecessary for the cobbler to pierce the leather of the shoe to provide abearing surface for one end of the post. Furthermore, in the process ofmolding the heel, the plate may be employed as a .ternplet to center theloops with relation to the post, prior to the vulcanization of therubber.

To attach the heel to the shoe, the plate 18 is secured to the lift andadjusted therearms from the respective shoes and to transpose them,according to the manner above set forth. If the heels do not align withthe lifts in their transposed position, then it is only necessary toloosen the screws 19 and to shift the plate l8 until the proper adjust--ment is attained.

From the foregoing description it will be seen, that l have provided ameans for securing a heel to a shoe which enables such heel to beattached by means of a simple operation, without employing nails orother fastening means of a permanent character. An advantage ofmyinvention is that heels after being partiz'illy worn may be transposedfrom one shoe to another, whereby the life of one pair of heels ismaterially increased.

Having thus described my invention, l claim:

1. Means for attaching a rubber heel to a shoe comprising a metal plate,of similar shape, but smaller than the heel, adjustably secured to theheel portion of the shoe, said plate having a shouldered dang-edperiphery extending both above and below the plane of the centralportion, and spaced headed studs secured to said plate adjacent theperiphery adapted to cooperate detachably with socket members tor 'nedin a rubber heel.

32. A. rubber heel and means therein for attaching the same to a shoe,comprising a lift having a groove, spaced from the periphery, in itsface opposite the tread, the surface of said face within said groovebeing, slightly below its surface of the periphcry, and the portion ofsaid face between said groove and the peripherybeing subslantiallyuniformly inclined, spaced cavities in said groove, and connectedresilient metallic eyes embedded in said heel and registering with saidcavities. j

3. In combination, a rubber heel, a plate having a similar shape. butsmaller size than the heel, said plate having a corrugation extendingaround the periphery thereof, the outer edge of the corrugation beingcarried beyond the plane the central portion, whereby the marginal edgesof the plate grip the shoe when secured. thereto, a spaced pair of studscarried by the plate adjacent other, it is only necessary to disengagethe the corrugated portion thereof, said heel having a shallow recesscomplementary to the corrugated portion of the plate and having socketscomplementary to saidstuds and in registration therewith, the shoeengaging portion of the heel being tapered inwardly from the marginaledges to said recess, and

an endless wire loop imbedded in the heel and adapted to embrace thestuds for boldinp; the heel to the plate;

In testimony whereof, I hereunto ailix my signature.

JOHN W. MEYERS.

